A gas turbine engine combustion chamber has an upstream end wall which has one or more apertures and a fuel burner is provided in each of the apertures. The upstream end wall of the combustion chamber is provided with one or more heat shield segments and each heat shield segment is positioned within the combustion chamber and is spaced in a downstream direction from the upstream end wall to shield the upstream end wall from the hot gases in the combustion chamber. Each heat shield segment has an aperture aligned with a corresponding aperture in the upstream end wall and the corresponding fuel burner. A seal assembly is positioned in each aperture in the upstream end wall and the aligned aperture in the respective heat shield segment and around the associated fuel burner. Each seal assembly is mounted within the respective aperture in the upstream end wall to allow relative movement between the fuel burner and the upstream end wall and the heat shield segment. The heat shield segments are mounted onto the upstream end wall using threaded studs on the heat shield segments which extend through apertures in the upstream end wall and washers and nuts are located on the ends of the threaded studs. Alternatively the heat shield segments have bolts which extend through aligned apertures in the heat shield segments and upstream end wall and washers and nuts are located on the ends of the bolts.
Each heat shield and the respective seal assembly are manufactured separately and are assembled into the combustion chamber from the upstream end and the downstream end of the combustion chamber. The heat shield is inserted into the combustion chamber from the downstream end of the combustion chamber whereas the seal assembly is inserted into the combustion chamber from the upstream end of the combustion chamber. Thus, it is difficult to assemble these parts into the combustion chamber and they have to be inserted from opposite sides of the upstream end wall of the combustion chamber.
Therefore the present invention seeks to provide a novel combustion chamber heat shield and seal assembly which reduces or overcomes the above mentioned problem.